


Someone special

by Alex_stories



Series: Actresses AU [3]
Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: ELLIEDINA WEEK, EllieDina Week (The Last of Us), F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, ace sarah, alternative universe, bi Tess, dinellie, elliedina week day 2: dawn, just want my girls to be happy, prompt: dawn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:21:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29800116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alex_stories/pseuds/Alex_stories
Summary: Ellie is a young actress who has already experience after filming one big movie and is in the middle of filming another one when her sister surprisingly introduces an adorable girl to her: Dina.orActresses AU where Ellie and Dina meet, become friends then something else, no one dies and the only one slaying is Dina
Relationships: Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Series: Actresses AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164497
Kudos: 15





	1. Where you least expect

**Author's Note:**

> It’s elliedina week! And I decided to do something of a hybrid here. I can’t get the Actresses Au out of my head so I decided to add this idea of “dawn” into this AU. The name came from the Poets of the Fall song “Someone special”. I think the song could be a really good elliedina song. I know that my Actress Au then becomes the OT3 but this one is only about Ellie meeting Dina, them becoming friends and then something else.
> 
> I’m using songs from this https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/merrique-bathory/644458198221357056  
> Prompts were released on @elliedina-week on tumblr

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie is sulking about her girlfriend Riley moving away and their lost relationship. Sarah suggests something that works better than expected that leads her to meet someone truly special: Dina

"You are not going to meet people by reading comics" 

"Who says I want to meet people?"

Sarah sighed dramatically. Ellie moved her comic slightly down and looked at her. Her sister was pinching her brow and holding a piece of paper in her other hand. She hid again behind her comic and pretended she saw nothing. 

"You know comic con exists, don't you?" Ellie had actually been there before and it was fun but right now she didn’t feel like going.

"Then go there"

"Don't tell me what to do" 

"Then don't go! Stay here, be boring" Sarah sighed again "here, I'll leave this here for you, read it if you want to"

Sarah closed the door and left. She understood the need Ellie had of some alone time but it was already 10 days of the second holiday she spent with her scooped in her guest room reading comics and drawing. There was nothing wrong with drawing and reading but Joel and Tess mentioned that Ellie only did that. Losing Riley had definitely affected her a lot. Sarah didn't remember ever feeling anything like that. She wished she could help her, in particular because she felt she hadn't really been a part of Ellie's life and hadn't really helped Joel enough. As the older sister she had the feeling she should help, guide or do something in regards to this situation with Ellie but she was at a complete loss here. The only reason she left that flyer there was because she knew that Ellie had enjoyed playing at the theater play last year, she had heard the praise the teachers and classmates had given her and she was already quite a talented singer so why not try this? She hoped this would give her something to do or to distract her.

Joel had tried joking and telling stories to Ellie, while Tess had tried telling her there was plenty of fish in the sea. Neither had been very successful in reaching out to Ellie and Sarah had neither a personal experience with this nor jokes to tell. She had never even felt an inclination towards men, women or anyone in general, whatever the gender. The only thing she had to offer was that stupid flyer for the summer acting camp. It was probably a terrible suggestion but she was really out of ideas. She had bought a cosplay DIY guide for Ellie, had suggested she could go to comic con or smaller events, she had tried many things but Ellie was unresponsive. They didn't have much of a relationship but Sarah was trying her best and failing miserably. They even talked a bit about broken hearts and relationships and it seemed they were starting to understand each other but Ellie still kept most things to herself.

In the meantime Ellie finished her comic and put it aside. She stood up and walked over the desk where Sarah had left that flyer. She chuckled when she saw what it was about. Sarah's line of work, of course. Sarah knew nothing else but work, writing and producing shows, that's all she knew. While she did have friends Joel was unable to say if she ever dated, she probably didn't have time with all her dedication. She had talked about how difficult relationships could be but Ellie was not sure if she truly understood that. 

Ellie looked at the book of puns that Riley had given to her and briefly her mind wandered off. She may want to try to become a stand up comedian. Maybe she has what it took but then she discarded the idea. She sighed and looked at the flyer. _Why the hell not?_ , thought Ellie, _not like I had any plans_. 

At breakfast, when Ellie mentioned her decision Sarah looked like those people on TV who won the lottery. She was just so damn happy. At that moment Ellie hadn't really expected much. She was just trying something new just to have something to do. She didn't expect to enjoy it that much, or to actually get a small part in a series, then later in commercials, then a big secondary role in a movie to then get her biggest role of all: Ashley. It was a post-apocalyptic movie with zombified-like people. It was violent, humane, sweet and heartbreaking. 

But some time after getting the role of Ashley something quite significant happened in between filming a smaller role for another movie. They were filming in Germany and it was near Christmas. Ellie had just turned 16 and Sarah was the producer for that movie. Tess and Joel were coming to visit soon, always trying to be supportive in their own particular ways. Ellie was playing video games in her room at the hotel when she heard someone knock on her door. Grunting, she paused her game and went to open the door.

"No, I don't want to see the city, Sarah" said Ellie as she was opening the door but instead of Sarah she was surprised to see a small but gorgeous dark haired girl who looked amused at her. Her face was a sea of freckles, her eyes were dark tourmaline, shiny and warm, her lips turned upwards on a welcoming smile but nothing was sweeter than the combination of all of her, her face, her posture, the confident air she exuded, it was just so overwhelming to be in front of her. Ellie was dumbfounded. "oh… hi, sorry, I thought… sorry… hi, I'm sorry… hi"

The girl was trying her best to not laugh but eventually she gave in and let a chuckle escape her lips. It was probably the most beautiful sound Ellie had ever heard in her life. 

"Hi, I'm Dina" said the girl and then pointed with her thumb behind her "your sister said she wanted to introduce me to you" 

Looking at the direction Dina was pointing, Ellie noticed Sarah was actually standing behind Dina but up to that moment she hadn't even seen her.

"Oh… hi Dina, uhm… Wanna come in?" 

Dina smiled and nodded. Ellie gave a step back and let them in. As Sarah entered the room she looked at Ellie with one raised eyebrow but Ellie shook her head. Dina probably already thought she was a complete dork, there was no need for her to notice the looks the Miller sisters were giving each other. 

"Oh, were you busy? Did we come at a bad time?" Dina was pointing at Ellie's video game.

"Uhm, no, just finished, I'm turning it off" Ellie quickly saved her game and turned it off, "so.. uhm, how do you know each other?" 

"A friend of mine is directing the film Dina is working on now" said Sarah “I told her about you and she was curious to meet you, everyone is talking about your upcoming movie”

"We're filming nearby, one of our writers introduced us, then Sarah told me about you. Everybody is so excited about your zombie movie, I was curious to get to know you" Dina sat on the bed as she spoke "one of my friends lives nearby and invited me to this medieval Christmas fair. It seemed cool, do you like dressing up?" 

"Me?" Ellie regretted it the second she asked, she sounded so stupid but she was having a hard time behaving normally in front of this girl

The corner of Dina's lips turned upwards as she was still trying to hide her amusement.

"No, I'm asking the invisible fourth person in the room" 

Ellie actually looked around at this and Dina - unable to resist anymore - laughed very loudly. It didn't matter that it was at her expense because it was truly a wonderful sound. She felt her cheeks warming up and she felt her insides were going to become puddle. Gosh, she was so gay.

"Oh yeah that was..."

"Incredibly stupid?" suggested Dina and Ellie chuckled

Sarah was merely shaking her head, one hand in her face hiding herself from second hand shame or something.

"Maybe" said Ellie and shrugged

"Anyway, interested?"

"Yes," said Ellie before thinking. Then she blinked and for a second she wasn't sure to what she agreed on, then slowly her mind came up with something somewhat intelligent to say "uhm, I don't have any costume" 

"Don't worry, you can either buy or rent one there, could be fun if you are into it" 

"Medieval stuff?"

"Or dressing up"

"I'm up for it" Ellie shrugged and looked at Sarah "are you coming?"

"No, I still have work to do, but this city is safe and in any case you can call me or write to me, I have my phone with me all the time" 

Ellie actually smiled at this. 

“So, what do you say, nerd, let’s go?” said Dina, smiling at her

She should probably be offended but she actually liked it when Dina said _nerd_. 

“Let’s”

“Great, write to me if you need anything” said Sarah and promptly left the room. All the time they had been talking Sarah had been writing in her phone, probably answering emails and other messages.

“Your sister is so busy all the time”

“Yeah, she doesn’t know any other way of living” said Ellie as she put her jacket on

“Does that bother you? Little Ellie wants her sister to pay attention to her?” asked Dina teasingly as she opened the door and they went outside

Ellie chuckled “Nah, haven’t they told you? I’m adopted, I didn’t really have much of a relationship with her”

“I know but still, she’s still family. I mean, I have a sister too, we have our moments, we fight we laugh, we compete, all that” admitted Dina

“I don’t think I could compete against Sarah” admitted Ellie but regretted it the moment she said it, she didn’t want to dampen the mood 

Dina gave her a questioning look but when Ellie didn’t reply she understood and changed the subject “Have you ever been to one of these things?”

“Nope, I have been to some comic conventions but nothing like a Xmas costume parade”

Again that melodious laugh that immediately lifted the mood and made her laugh. There was just something about Dina that was so sweet and contagious. 

“It’s not a parade, it’s a fair, a medieval fair, there’s people in costumes, people singing, dancing, some taverns, people having fake jousts, fighting with swords, dancing, selling clothes, drinks, sweets, mushroom in sauce, and of course, because of the country we are in, sausage”

“Not that interested in sausage, to be honest,” she said it before thinking and then tried to save face, “could try the mushrooms though”

Dina was looking at her with an amused look “Oook”

Luckily she turned around after saying that because Ellie was blushing furiously red now. She had not meant it to sound crass or something or too revealing. There was already enough gossip about her and potential crushes on some news sites. Some people had guesses correctly but others were too caught in their heteronormativity. She was a fucking minor but people were just weird, she had even been paired up with guys who were like 27 year old and shit, totally disgusting. Even if she would have liked men she wouldn’t like those men.

“Oh” said Dina as she checked her phone “we should take this tram, come, run”

“Ok” said Ellie, following her. They took the tram and then during the time there they talked a bit about music and preferred places. 

When they reached the place Ellie was surprised by the effort some of these people put on their costumes. Some were very simple but others were extremely elaborated and detailed. The place seemed quite chill, there were people fighting with swords as Dina had mentioned and all sorts of stores here and there. There were people selling their craft and she was positively impressed with some of what she saw. But what she liked the most was that no one seemed to give three dams about them not being in costumes or who they were, she was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed with the attention the trailers of her upcoming movie had brought to her and being here with a person who treated her in a normal way and surrounded by people who ignored her made her feel more at ease. 

“Hey, nerd, look at this” said Dina and grabbed her hand to drag her to a store. 

Ellie’s heart fluttered at this but she tried to calm herself, Dina was probably just being nice. Dina then put a hat on top of Ellie. 

“It suits you” said Dina

Ellie looked at herself in the mirror and shook her head “Not my style” but when she turned to look Dina was no longer there. She put the hat back with the other hats “Dina?” she asked around “Dina? Dina?” _Where did she go?_ , Ellie wondered and kept looking inside the tent

“In here” said Dina from behind a curtain, Ellie followed the sound of her voice until she got to where she thought Dina was. Then Dina opened the curtain and Ellie gasped. She was wearing a red jacket with a black belt, underneath of which she had one of those medieval white shirts, high boots and black pants. Seeing her reaction Dina smiled smugly again “I think I’m taking these, do you want to try something on?”

“Uuuhm, I’m not sure, I mean this all looks so nice” admitted Ellie

“I can help if you want” suggested Dina

“Sure” Ellie shrugged

After a while Ellie left that tent with a backpack where they both kept their original jackets and other clothes, and she was wearing some dark green jacket with a belt that had space for daggers, she even bought a fake dagger. She felt quite badass with those garments. Eventually Dina took them to see her friend, who was working in a tavern it seemed.

“Hey, you made it” said a guy behind a bar who went around and hugged her

_Oh, a guy_ , thought Ellie disappointed, not that she had something against him but the way he was looking at her clearly indicated he was into her. She wasn't sure if Dina reciprocated that interest or not.

“Jesse, this is Ellie” explained Dina “Ellie, Jesse”

“Nice to meet you Ellie” said Jesse and smiled

“Hi” said Ellie 

“He’s here doing an internship, you know, he is probably as much as a nerd as you are” teased Dina

“No, I’m not” laughed Jesse

“You read comics, don’t you?” said Dina, he nodded and opened his mouth to talk but Dina was faster “play games, went to comic cons, even got a cosplay”

“Wait,” said Ellie, suddenly recognizing this guy, “you won second place in the cosplay competition last year!”

Jesse smiled and scratched his neck, bashfully, “Yeah, I was there”

“Duuude, your cosplay was so awesome, that is like in my top ten manga stories about ghosts, you should have won first prize”

“Thanks, but that girl Whitney was a pro, she deserved it” said Jesse, modestly

“Nah, you were far better, you had so much feeling in your performance, when I read that scene that was exactly how I saw it in my mind playing out, you know. Are you also an actor?” asked Ellie

“I played some minor parts but I don’t think it’s for me, I think I’m more into writing, you know?”

“Fair enough,” said Ellie and she couldn’t help but feel bad at her initial reaction to him. He actually seemed to be a nice guy “but are you going this year?”

“Maybe” said Jesse trying to sound mysterious

“Oh, I wanna see what you do this year” said Ellie enthusiastically

“What about you, do you cosplay?”

“No, I mean, maybe I would like to try but I am more into sketching”

“Have you presented your work into the competition there?”

“Yeah, once or twice”

“I should check out this year if you are there, wanna see your style”

“Sure” Ellie pulled her phone from her pocket and opened her _my work_ album and showed him some of what she did

“Hey, I saw that” Jesse pointed at her drawing of a very popular Mecha character “you are talented”

“Thanks” said Ellie smiling

Dina cleared her throat and Ellie and Jesse both looked at her impatient stare

“Sorry, got carried away” said Ellie, only now realizing they had been so engrossed in their discussion that they completely forgot about Dina

“No, it’s ok, I should imagine if I put two uber nerds together that they would end up like this” said Dina and smiled, amused despite all “but Jesse is right, you are good”

“Thank you” said Ellie, relieved that she had not annoyed Dina just now

“You know, while you two were talking about your nerd adventures I got a message from another friend, well, not a friend _friend_ , mostly someone I know, she is also here, what a coincidence, no?”

“Who?” asked Ellie, now interested in meeting this person after the very positive experience of meeting Jesse. If Dina’s friends were like him then she would probably like them even if they were potential competition.

“You know, the former athlete” said Dina casually

“Oh, her” said Jesse, sounding annoyed

Ellie immediately caught the strange change of air there “What’s wrong with her? Who’s her?”

“There’s nothing wrong with her” explained Dina “she’s just a bit intense but she’s nice once you get to know her”

“Hmm hmmm” mumbled Jesse unconvinced

“I’m lost, who are you talking about?” asked Ellie

“Come, nerd, I’ll introduce you two” said Dina and once again grabbed Ellie’s hand and she let herself be dragged “see you in a while, Jesse”

“Bye, nice meeting you Ellie”

“Nice meeting you too, Jesse” said Ellie waving goodbye

“Come later for drinks” suggested Jesse

“Uhm, we’re 16, dude” said Dina as they were leaving

“There’s alcohol free stuff, you know” said Jesse

“Whatever” said Dina and laughed

For a while Ellie said nothing “I did already try alcohol, to be honest” 

“Me too but I think that I’m not that fond of it”

“Me neither” confessed Ellie, relieved to find similarities with her “Maybe it is really something that one likes later in life” 

“Maybe” Dina shrugged and continued directing them to the place where there was a sword competition. 

When they got there, many people were cheering for one or the other. 

“You know these things are sort of like a theater piece, there is like a story and all that” said Dina to Ellie’s ear, because people around them were making a lot of noise

Ellie observed it and she had to agree but it looked damn real. That sword seemed heavy, as well as the armor they were wearing. One of the knights had a sigil of a wolf and the other the one of a snake. The snake knight swinged his sword and the other knight quickly moved to the side, evading him and hit him with his sword. Hey parried and blocked and fought, it was pretty entertaining but one of the knights was clearly faster and stronger than the other and eventually won. Ellie knew this was probably choreographed but still she felt a thrill when the wolf knight won. She even howled and clapped with the rest of the people present. DIna was laughing right next to her when she saw her enthusiasm. 

“Man, that was cool” admitted Ellie

“I’m glad you enjoyed it” said Dina and grabbed her hand again “come, let’s meet our hero”

“What, can we really do that?” asked Ellie 

“Sure” said Dina in a confident tone

“I didn’t know they were so accessible” said Ellie

“This one is” said Dina as she directed them to a sort of medieval looking tent and then they went in. As they did, the wolf knight removed his helmet. He had braided and blond hair “Congratulations, you were amazing out there”

The knight turned around and Ellie gasped. It wasn’t a guy but a girl, and an objectively good looking one. Ellie gulped and waved, not trusting herself to talk at the moment

“Hey” said the girl as she came to them “nice seeing you here”

The way that girl carried herself was hypnotizing, she exuded confidence and strength. She was tall but she wasn’t really that big but still, there was just something about her. 

“Who’s this?” asked the girl and Ellie immediately detested the tone of voice she used.

“Ellie, this is Abby, Abby, this is Ellie. I just met her and decided to bring her here to this fair” explained Dina

“Hi” said Abby with a nod of her head, as she continued removing the armor and dusted herself clean. 

“Hi” said Ellie coldly

Dina seemed a bit out of place but she shook her head and talked again “You know Ellie is also an actress”

Abby cleaned her brow with a towel and then looked at Ellie from head to toe and Ellie narrowed her eyes at her, she was not liking this jock. She might be pretty but she seemed to be a total bitch.

“Uhm” said Abby “I think I’ve seen the trailer of your movie, is’t that the one with the zombies?”

Ellie wasn’t sure if she was imagining things but she would have sworn that the tone she used was derogatory. 

“Yes, it’s going to be pretty interesting” said Ellie with a confident tone she normally didn’t like using when talking about her job

“For Halloween you mean?” said Abby smiling

“I assure you, it’s more than just about people running from zombies” insisted Ellie

“Sure it would be” mocked Abby

“Fuck you” said Ellie before thinking.

“Fuck you too” replied Abby but she seemed to be more amused than angry

“First of all, there is nothing wrong with Halloween, and second, watch it before you criticize it, will you?” said Ellie

“Oh, I will, I definitely will” said Abby “wanna see how a scrawny little thing like you survives all the zombies, probably because they are all very slow”

“For survival you need to fight but part of that means you actually have to use your brain, can’t do that if you don’t have one” replied Ellie “that’s why I doubt you would survive the zombies”

“Wanna bet?” joked Abby

“What is that supposed to mean? How are we going to bet that? It’s not like we truly are in a zombie apocalypse” said Ellie

“If you could survive, I am sure I could” said Abby

“Like I said, you need a brain”

“So that zombies can eat it?”

“So you admit you don’t have one?” 

Abby chuckled and Dina laughed nervously, clearly distressed about this situation. Abby seemed unfazed by what Ellie was saying, she was apparently even having fun.

“You are a fiery brat, aren’t you?”

“And you are mindless jock”

“Wow, wow, why don’t we calm down a bit?” said Dina

“I’m chill” said Abby, lying like the idiot she was

“Yeah, it’s just some friendly banter, you know” said Ellie

“Ok” said Dina “for the record I think you are both stupid”

“Fair enough” said Abby and shrugged

“This one more than me for sure” added Ellie

“I saw that there will be a dance soon, wanna join us or are you fighting again?” said Dina, changing the topic “and I mean with swords”

“No, I’m done for the day” said Abby “but are you sure you want me to join?”

“Sure, wouldn’t invite you otherwise” said Dina “let’s go, nerds”

“How is she a nerd? She can’t even think” said Ellie, annoyed that Abby was joining them

“How can this scrawny brat be a nerd? That is the real question” said Abby but she followed them

“Ellie draws and plays games and Abby reads, for fun, and also writes fanfics, so you are both nerds” explained Dina

Abby and Ellie looked at each other but they both narrowed her eyes and said nothing. Although Ellie was curious to know what could that brainless blond possibly read or write she had no interest in asking her.

They finally got to the dancing area, where some people were teaching some dance moves while a group of people all disguised in medieval or fairy garments were playing. It was actually a very nice song. Although it was in German, Ellie knew the language because she had learned it although not perfectly. She started singing along without realizing and both Abby and Dina were staring at her.

“Didn’t take you for the kind of person who learns languages” said Abby

“You don’t even know me, dude” said Ellie

“Neither do you, _dude_ ” mentioned Abby mimicking her tone as she said _dude_.

“Let’s dance,” said Dina and dragged them to the dancing area. 

It was some sort of circular dance, Dina grabbed Ellie on her right hand and Abby with her left hand and they joined the circle and tried to follow the rest of the people. Ellie felt pretty stupid but she tried regardless. She noticed she wasn’t the only one having a hard time with this dance, many others were just as lost but still trying. Dina was a pro, though, she was doing amazingly well. At one point they changed the dance and they were supposed to grab partners. Ellie was about to ask Dina but Abby was faster and Ellie had to resign to look frustrated at how they danced. Abby was smiling so sweetly at her that it would have been a nice moment for a picture except that Ellie wanted nothing more than to punch her. 

_Fuck her_ , thought Ellie. For a second there she considered leaving but then the song changed and Dina came to her side and asked her to dance. Ellie smiled at that and went with her. Dina put Ellie’s hands at her waist and they danced. In the meantime Abby was dancing with some dude, not that Ellie cared, she just wanted her away from them.

“So, do you like this fair?" asked Dina

"It's better than expected" _Particularly this part_

"Then I'm glad I invited you" said Dina "although I thought that there moment I took you to the tent was pretty intense"

"Yeah, sorry about that, didn't like that girl too much, she's a bit stupid"

"Really? I don't think you know her enough to jump to that conclusion"

"Hmmm, I think I'm right on this one"

"Oh, so are you saying that my capacity to read people is bad?"

"Can't be good at everything, can you?" 

"I beg your pardon?" 

"What you heard, maybe your intuition about people sucks, dude" 

Dina feigned offense and Ellie laughed at her cute face.

"Is that so? Does it mean it sucked too when I thought you could be cool?" 

"Nope, but you know what they say, even a broken clock is right twice a day" Ellie shrugged

"How dare you?" Dina said, pretending to be even more offended but then she chuckled

"Sorry, it's the truth" 

"I think it's just that you are jumping to conclusions, lots of people do when they meet her but after a while you realize she's ok"

"You mean for a raging bitch?"

"She's not" Dina laughed 

"We'll have to agree to disagree on that one"

"Ok, ok, but you did have fun seeing her fighting, right?"

"Yeah but next time I want to see someone knocking her into the dust"

"Hmm, not sure how many chances we'll have to see that, considering she's only here for this semester. She attends the same drama school Jesse does and they have this program were they travel abroad for a semester, and theirs is about to end" 

"Oh well, can't have it all, can we?" 

"I guess not" Dina smiled and then looked around. Right then the song changed and Ellie was about to ask her for another dance when Dina talked again "want to continue dancing with me? I see that Abby is with her boyfriend so it's safe to say we lost her for the night"

"Boyfriend?" Ellie tried to hide her relief but she felt so happy it was hard to hide it

"Yeah, he came to visit" said Dina "they just started dating but the guy seems very into her. More than her even, I would say"

"Cool" Ellie didn't give three fucks about who liked more than the other, just the fact that Abby was already dating someone else and probably wasn't really interested in Dina made her happy. She relaxed much more after that and actually started paying attention to the song that was playing. As she did this she chuckled.

"What?" asked Dina

"Just the song, it's funny"

"Why"

"Well, it sounds as romantic but then it's basically about this guy asking the girl he likes to let him in and come spend the night by her side, saying it's cold outside" 

"Jeeez, really?" Dina laughed

"Yeah, he's pretty insistent too, like the girl says she has no key but he insists anyway. I mean I think it's obvious she wants him to go in but… don't know… I just thought it was funny how medieval issues wouldn't be so different from modern ones, you know?" 

"What, asking your crush to spend the night with you?" 

"Yeah, stuff like that. Not that I have experience, I just read about it" Ellie blushed at this

"I guess people in the past weren't that different"

"Probably… I mean I know this song was written now but inspired in medieval lives" 

Dina nodded "True… hey, after this we should try those mushrooms you mentioned you wanted to try"

"Sure"

Ellie and Dina danced some more and then went to get the mushroom in cream and garlic. They tasted better than what she expected. They tried some crepes after that and then went to Jesse's tavern to try some non alcoholic drinks. Later, when she was back in her Joel she sent a message to Dina, thanking her for taking her there. For a second she regretted sending it, wondering if she seemed too eager but then Dina answered with a picture of them in their costumes and saying she had a great time. From that day onward they texted everyday.


	2. Didn’t really know what to call you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie becomes fast friends with Dina. After an awkward talk she decides to come out to Joel - the only person in the family who hasn’t noticed she isn’t straight. Later, she decides to do the same with Dina.

Dina lived in another city but they visited each other as often as they could. Jesse lived nearby so they would sometimes hangout when Ellie visited her. He was truly as much of a nerd as she was, they could talk for hours about comics and video games, he was just so much fun she couldn't really be annoyed at him for having a crush on Dina. She actually felt some sort of solidarity in this aspect because she felt somehow the same. Even then, she cared for her truly, not just because she liked her but because she was a good person.

Apart from being gorgeous, there was just something so attractive about her confidence and her warmth. She was cute but also incredibly smart. Ellie wasn't sure exactly when it happened but Dina became her best friend. She wasn’t stupid, she knew she liked Dina but it wasn’t clear that Dina liked her in that way so she accepted whatever relationship Dina could offer her. 

She was thinking about their last meeting when her phone rang. She answered and it was Riley.

“Hi, Ellie, how was the trip?” asked Riley

“It was ok,” said Ellie vaguely. Riley and her were on good terms, she had been slightly hurt when Riley started dating Hayley but in the end she had moved on too and dated Cat - although the relationship was short lived. 

“Hmm… did you meet someone interesting?” 

“What? How? Did Sarah talk to you?”

“No, it’s just your voice, man, you sound lovestruck”

“I’m not lovestruck”

“Hmmm, exactly what a lovestruck girl would say”

“I’m not ok, just… I met a girl but she’s just a friend”

“Ok, sure, so believable”

“Stop”

“Are you in denial? Seriously Ellie?”

“I’m not… I just don’t want to fuck up the friendship, I just met her recently”

“And you are probably chatting like everyday?”

“How did you…? Who did you talk to?”

“Dude, chill, I’m picking all this only by talking to you, you are like too sincere, you just don’t realize you are”

“I’m not, actress remember?”

“Yeah yeah, and you are good but man, you suck at lying to me”

“Maybe… but… ok… yeah, I like her but I am not sure she likes me back, not even sure she likes girls, you know?”

“Hmmm, have you tried asking her out?”

“No, I mean, we go out but it’s for tea or to play games… or stuff like that, nothing that says romantic activity, you know. Besides I am getting some weird vibes with her and this guy, I think they might be dating”

“Have you asked her if they are?”

“What? No, I don’t want to seem jealous”

“You don’t have to, it’s normal for friends to tease each other about the people the other likes and stuff”

“Hmmm.. I’ll think about it… I mean… sounds reasonable”

“I’m always reasonable”

“More like rarely reasonable”

“Ha ha ha, so funny. Anyway, I’m glad things are ok on your side”

“How about your side?”

“Oh well, broke up with Hayley, so I am feeling kinda sad but I’ll survive”

“Sorry about it”

“Yeah, do you still talk with Cat?”

“Not really, last time we talked she said she was too busy, I gathered that was her way of saying she didn’t want to talk with me anymore”

“Ouch”

“Yeah but it’s ok, I get it, it wasn’t a bad break up but I guess she wants to move on”

“I guess she does, she was funny and talented, that tattoo she designed for you was really nice”

“Yeah, it is” Ellie looked at her arm. It was good she had never insisted on the idea of putting Cat’s name in the design, it would have been a bad idea

“I’m happy that you are able to move on, man, that is really cool”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, I’m happy for you, hope I can soon meet this girl of yours”

“Let’s see about it, I’m sure you would like her, she’s very clever and has such a cute smile”

“Oooh, someone is falling in love”

“I’m not”

“You need to chill and enjoy this, man, you are too strict with yourself, there’s nothing wrong with liking another person”

“Well if the other person is straight there might be a problem”

“Yeah but you don’t know this, what about you try and find out?”

“How?”

“You know the traditional way, asking?”

“I can’t just go ahead and ask her if she likes girls”

“Why not?”

“It would be too obvious”

“Then take her to watch a lesbian movie and see how she reacts”

“How is that subtle?”

“Lend her a book, comic or something with a queer couple? Figure it out, dude, you can’t be in the dark forever”

“Watch me”

“I rather not, sounds boring just watching you do absolutely nothing while your girl gets sweeped under her feet by someone else”

Ellie grunted but Riley was right

“Ok, I’ll think of something”

“Cool, let me know if you do something else apart from thinking, you know… like actually doing something about it”

“You are fucking hilarious”

“Of course I am, anyway, hope you stop being a chicken and do something about it”

“I will… I will try at least”

“Do that, dude, you aren’t a vampire, you won’t live forever”

“That’s actually the name of my favorite fanfic, you know?”

“Oh, read that one too, it’s from that video game you played… what was its name?”

“Seriously, you read stuff from a fandom you don’t even know that well?”

“It was a good fic, ok?”

“It’s from Not so Shoujo, like for real, you don’t know the game and you read the fanfic, unbelievable”

“I told you the story was good”

“Yeah, it is, I don’t know the author, she doesn’t seem to be anywhere else”

“I know, I have searched for her too, who could Alice_Wolf18 be? I would love to meet her. Had I been her I would definitely let others know, her fanfic is the most popular one at the moment”

“That’s what I am thinking, lots of fanfic writers managed to become true, serious writers and she’s good, like she gets the characters, their voice, their humor, everything”

“Do you think it’s the original writer?”

“Nah, Alice wrote for other fandoms and she is just good understanding those things, she was good at writing that other fanfic 'Fire for us’, that one about that series about the dragons”

“Oh true, I read that one too, you are right. Must be some really smart girl that never leaves her room or something, she writes so well”

“We’ll never know, probably, seems to be very secretive”

Riley snorted “You are talking like it’s bad, and you are like the most secretive person out there”

“You got me, I mean… I’m not really complaining that she is like that just that I would love to meet her, tell her some ideas or something”

“So you want to pester her?, exactly what you don’t want people to do with you”

“Shut up, you want to do the same”

“Maybe… don’t know… if she’s hot I would want to ask her out”

“You don’t even know if she likes girls”

“Uhm… Ellie, the way she writes, she must like girls or at least she is dying to be with a girl, I volunteer, man”

“You are impossible”

“Shut up, dude, you want to dive in there too”

“Duuude, calm down a bit, we don’t even know the girl”

“That’s the problem really… but you re right, maybe she’s an insufferable bitch or something”

“I hope not, would feel weird reading stuff that I like if it was written by someone I hate”

“Never thought much about it but you are probably right, who knows, perhaps it’s better that we never find out” Riley sighed “Anyway, gotta go”

“Talk you you later”

“Bye, Ellie”

“Bye, Riley”

She hung up and lay in bed, thinking about what to do. Later that day she met with Jesse, they were checking some new comics in a store nearby and then went back to Ellie’s and exchanged some ideas for cosplay, discussed the best japanese animation, among other things. She had fun that day and despite Jesse being a prospective love rival, he was such a nice guy she didn’t really think about that all the time. 

“So… he’s a nice guy” said Joel

Ellie put her comic down and looked at Joel. Tess was reading a book while she drank whiskey but she looked over her book and then shook her head slightly, trying to hide her amusement.

“Uhm, yeah” said Ellie and tilted her head “what about it?”

“He seems very much into you”

“What? No” 

“Hmmm hmmm” mumbled Joel

“Uhm, dad, no”

“He seems interested”

“No, dad, no, I think you got it all wrong, he’s just a friend”

“I’ve got a pretty good eye for these things”

“Uhm, I am not so sure about this”

“I have a feeling he will probably ask you out quite soon”

“Don’t hold your breath” 

“No, I’m quite confident about this one”

“For fuck’s sake Joel, how lost are you on this?” said Tess putting her book down

“What do you mean?” asked Joel, tilting his head

“She isn’t going to date that guy” said Tess, exasperated

“Why not, she’s old enough to date” said Joel defensively

Tess looked at Ellie. Ellie knew what that look meant. She was waiting for Ellie to decide if it was time Joel knew what was so evident for everyone else.

“Ok” sighed Ellie “you see… Tess is right, I am not going to date him because I’m not really into him”

“You know, it’s ok, it’s confusing, but you have to give yourself a chance” insisted Joel, misunderstanding her.

“No, you don’t get it, it’s not like that” Ellie tried to explain

“But you are so smart and beautiful, you need to trust me on this” said Joel

“Joel, let her talk” said Tess, rolling her eyes

“Ok” said Joel and gestured at Ellie to continue. Ellie sighed again and tried to do that.

“You see… I’m not… I don’t think I like men” said Ellie. It was like taking a band aid very fast, it was painful but she needed to do this. She bit her lips and looked at Joel expectantly.

“Oh” said Joel “oh, I get it…” Joel scratched his head and smiled awkwardly “I was assuming, sorry about that kiddo… So… Cat?”

Ellie covered her face with her hands “Yeah that was… that’s over”

“Sorry about that… For how long have you known?” Joel asked Tess

“Since forever” admitted Tess “how did you not notice?”

“I guess I should have been paying more attention, I’m sorry Ellie”

“Don’t be… so… are we ok?” asked Ellie

“Of course, I don’t care who you like, as long as the person is good for you and not some creep I’m fine” said Joel

Ellie sighed, relieved. This went better than expected. 

“Told you it was going to be fine” said Tess and patted Ellie’s arm affectionately. Ellis smiled at her. She had been right.

“You know… I have to write some stuff,” said Joel all of a sudden. 

“Got inspiration struck all of a sudden?” asked Tess

“Just readjustments” said Joel and went to his studio. 

Tess and Ellie looked at each other and shrugged, then both continued reading. Joel would come up with ideas to write songs at unexpected moments so they were used to it already. He was a good singer but he also wrote songs for others apart from his own songs. Days later she saw him reading a book that he tried to hide he was reading but then she realized it was ‘Queer theory for dummies’. Ellie chuckled but she had to admire his enthusiasm. He bought a whole series of Queer books for dummies and when the song of the guy he was writing for became public it was surprisingly inclusive. 

The next time she went out with Dina they went to get ice cream and were talking about the next movie Dina was filming when that song started playing.

“I like this one” said Dina

Ellie smiled, maybe this was her chance.

“My dad wrote it”

“Really? Wasn’t he married to a woman?”

“Yes, so? Bi and pan people exist, have you forgotten?” said Ellie “I mean I don’t think he is but he just nice”

_ Nice? Why didn’t I say ally? This way she can’t know _ , thought Ellie nervously

“True, there’s that.. It’s just that people are not normally mentioning stuff unless it affects them somehow” said Dina

“Maybe but… maybe” said Ellie. Dina looked puzzled but then she chuckled

“You are not normally very good with words but that was a particularly weird one. That didn’t make sense, you know that?” said Dina

“I know” said Ellie “uhm… so what is your… what do you think about that?”

“About what?”

“Non straight people?” Ellie swallowed

“Oh… I don’t have any special thoughts, I wish them well I guess. What about you?”

“Me?” Ellie almost spilled her drink

“Yeah, you have any particular thoughts?”

“I’m… well… I’m… I am thinking in the same way the song is”  _ I’m so stupid _

“Cool, yeah, to me it’s like, there is not even a point to discuss whether they exist or not, they always have and they are around, just deal with it, and then you have people saying that they don’t know anyone who’s queer but the reality is that you never know. Some people might be and they just won’t tell you”

Ellis shivered at the last part of what Dina said. She was looking at her attentively.  _ Does she know? _

“Yeah…”  _ Here goes nothing, _ “I just recently came out to them and so… I think that’s why my dad is writing songs like that now”

“Oh” said Dina and smiled “that was so brave of you, so nice that your family took it so well, although I gotta say that should be the norm but still, good for you and your family”

“Yeah, I was also quite surprised” Ellie scratched her neck

“I’m glad, honestly glad” said Dina and sighed “I’ve always dated boys but I know that I don’t have a preference, didn’t really tell my family yet, my sister is very religious… don’t mean she’s a bigot but I’m sort of… afraid, you know?”

“Oh” Ellie felt hopeful but she tried to hide it, “sorry about your sister hope that if you ever have to tell her she will be ok with it”

“Me too” said Dina looking down “I mean I love her, she’s important but if ever… if I ever like a girl” Dina’s eyes focused on Ellie “then I won’t hide it, not even for her”

Ellie’s stomach fluttered and she smiled “That’s… that’s good… good for that girl”

Dina smiled “Come, stupid, we should go if we want to watch that movie”

Ellie followed her. If someone were to ask her about the movie she would be completely unable to say a thing about it, the whole time she kept thinking about what Dina had said and feeling happy about sitting next to her. 

After the movie ended Dina mentioned that Jesse and other friends were going to go to a karaoke. Ellie didn’t think that was such a good idea but she accepted, she was just so damn happy after their conversation.

Except that apart from Jesse and a friend of his, Leah, Mel and Abby were also there. Ellie was not going to let them damp her mood though, so she went in and she laughed her head off at how bad they all sang. In particular she laughed at Abby and Leah destroying  _ Take on me _ . It was just the worst rendition she had ever heard in her life. It seemed that Abby didn’t give a damn about sucking at this, no one actually did. Jesse and his friend Gabriel completely murdered  _ Wonderwall _ after that. Her abs were hurting her from all the laughter and she was cleaning her face from tears when Dina chose the next song and dragged her from her chair.

“No way” said Ellie, still laughing “what makes you think I want to do this?”

“Oh, I think you do,” said Dina with a gleam in her eyes and such a dominant tone of voice that made Ellie shiver and froze her smile in her face. 

“Ok, if you insist,” said Ellie, uselessly, then trying to downplay her feelings added, “not wanna see you pout all night because I said no”

“Sure that’s your reason,” Dina smiled and pressed play. 

_ Hello, you fool, I love you _

Dina started singing and Ellie only opened her mouth, unable to even mumble. Dina wasn’t as terrible as the rest but she wasn’t that good either. However, that wasn’t what had given Ellie pause but the way she was looking at her as she sang. Dina elbowed her, impatient at Ellie for not singing with her. Ellie tried to recover and started to sing.

_ She's the heart of the funfair _

_ She's got me whistling a private tune _

_ And it all begins where it ends _

_ And she's all mine, my magic friend _

_ She says, "hello, you fool, I love you _

_ C'mon join the joyride" _

_ Join the joyride _

Dina’s face as Ellie joined in was full of surprise then appreciation then admiration. It made Ellie crack a smile once more. In particular when she heard the gasp of surprise of the rest of the people there. Not that she cared that much but she knew she could sing, unlike the rest of them. They sang the whole song and then Dina high-fived her.

“You were awesome, man” said Dina “didn’t know you could sing like that”

“Thanks” said Ellie, blushing “it’s a hobby”

“Now we all look like total idiots,” commented Mel, smiling bashfully

“We already did, that is the point of this, to come and sing badly,” said Abby, sounding slightly annoyed. That made Ellie’s mood improve even more.

“Don’t be a bad sport” said Leah patting Abby’s back “I liked the show, now I think you should do a solo”

“Yeah, said Jesse, we should choose one randomly and then make her sing” suggested Jesse and his friend Gabriel agreed.

“Let’s do it” agreed Dina

“Why?” asked Ellie

“It would be fun,” said Dina and winked at her. 

Ellie shook her head but smiled. She sang whatever Dina chose after that but later that night when she was in bed the only things that she remembered were her talk with Dina earlier that day and the way she looked at her when she said :  _ Hello, you fool, I love you. _

_ I’m such an idiot, that means nothing _ , thought Ellie but she smiled to herself regardless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dina knows what she’s doing and Ellie is just so dense sometimes  
> And I am mentioning the webtoon Not so shoujo Love story by Curryuku, but I made it into a game here because why not? It’s funny and absurd, if that’s your thing, go ahead and read it.   
> Let’s see who in here can guess who our mysterious fanfic writer is :P
> 
> Songs mentioned:   
> Take on me - Aha  
> Wonderwall - Oasis  
> Joyride - Roxette


	3. Dance with me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dina invites Ellie to the most absurd party she could invite her to go - Abby’s bday - but she accepts. The night ends with her arms around Dina as they dance.

“I don’t even like the girl” complained Ellie

“It’s going to be fun” insisted Dina

“She hates me, I hate her, why would I go?” said Ellie

Dina pointed at herself “Because you want to see something spectacular?”

Ellie laughed. The worst part is that Dina was completely right. She would go to be with her, even to Abby fucking Anderson’s birthday party. 

“C'mon dude, it’s going to be fun”

“I thought that asshole liked raves”

“Yeah but she’s going to one the day after, first there’s this party at her place, not many people are coming but I swear they are fun”

“Fine” said Ellie and sighed, defeated “I’ll go”

“Cool, I’ll come pick you up at 8” said Dina and smiled triumphantly

Later that day she called Riley and told her all about the day she went to watch movies with Dina, how much closer they had become since then and about this party now.

“Wow, you must really be into her, you hate that blonde bitch”

“I do but Dina really wanted to go, with me, not Jesse, me”

“That’s cool, are you sure he isn’t going too?”

“She said he’s busy with another event. He confirmed”

“Man, it’s so weird how you two are friends despite liking the same girl, no competition or weird shit”

“I know, right? But he is really such a cool guy”

“I’m sure he is. Anyway, tell me everything after this party, I’ll call you, we should talk more often, not just every six months or something”

“I agree, how is Mariam?”

“She’s ok, we went to watch that same movie you watched with Dina, she didn’t like it so much, said that it seemed like the characters were badly written, I told her next time you pick a movie and she took me on my word, now she’s making me watch all sort of obscure cinema”

“Do you like it?”

“Well, some of it it’s interesting, more than anything I enjoy being with her but she’s quite critical of everything she consumes, you know”

“That’s great, I mean, I hope she approves of my upcoming movie then”

“Sure she will, anyway, you gotta get ready, it’s 7 already”

“Oh shit, you are right, talk to you tomorrow then” said Ellie

“Bye Ellie, good luck” said Riley

“Bye” Ellie hung up and quickly showered and got dressed. 

She had just finished combing her hair when Dina arrived and they left. Before leaving, Tess gave her a curious look and Joel gave her thumbs up. It seemed everyone here already knew she was into Dina. How embarrassing.

They talked a bit about work and school life on the way there. When they arrived at Abby's apartment Ellie realized that Dina hadn’t lied, there were not that many people there. 

“Happy birthday, Abby,” said Dina giving her a present and hugging Abby “you remember Ellie?”

“Hmmm, yeah” said Abby

“Hi,” said Ellie, coldly. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea

“Come on in” said Abby and led them inside “Everyone, this is Dina. And Ellie” Abby added as if she were talking about Dina’s dog “This is Mel, Manny, Owen, Jordan, Nick, Nora and Leah”

They all greeted them and - almost unexpectedly - she felt Nora and Leah piqued her curiosity. They were really pretty.  _ Control yourself _ , thought Ellie,  _ Dina is right here _

Everyone greeted her but it was Leah’s sweet voice the one she was drawn to the most. She was the only one in the group who came nearer and shook her hands. She was so tall and her smile was so cute. 

“Nice meeting you” said Leah, then looked at Ellie “I saw you in the trailers, can’t wait to see your movie, I love zombie stuff”

“Yeah, it’s a bit more complicated than zombies but hope you like it” said Ellie, scratching her neck and looking up at her

“You are… a lot older than in that movie, taller for sure” said Leah

“We filmed it around two years ago, when I was about to turn 15” admitted Ellie “edition and all that, it takes time, there were some issues to solve too and well… I think it’s worth the wait” 

“So you are like… what age now?”

“17” said Ellie “Dina too” she didn’t want to exclude Dina from this, she seemed slightly bothered by this tall pretty girl here talking to Ellie “I’ll be 18 in a couple of months, so will Dina”

“Still underage, can’t really invite you drinks, can I?” said Leah looking at them

“I mean, you can” said Dina “but just maybe not a lot”

“I’ll stay on the safe side and just offer you soda” joked Leah

“You are 19 too?” asked Ellie

“Not yet”, admitted Leah, “next month, we are only a month apart, Abby and I”

“Nice” said Ellie

“Not sure I’ll do anything but if I do organize something, I’ll let you guys know” said Leah looking at Ellie

Ellie gulped “Ok, that would be… nice”

Leah smiled “Come and sit with us, we were about to play a game”

“Sure” said Dina and grabbed Ellie by the hand as she dragged her to a sofa

Ellie felt butterflies in her stomach as she did that and was inwardly thankful to Leah for being so open in her interest or whatever if this was the result. All the time they were talking, the rest of the crew were making jokes and laughing about other things but Ellie had paid them no mind. 

“So, what are you playing?” asked Dina as she sat

“Truth or dare” said Nora

“What are you, 10?” mocked Dina

“She’s messing with you” said Abby and chuckled. Ellie was surprised to notice that the soft chuckle that blond asshole gave was actually kinda cute but she was not going to be fooled. She might look nice but she was a complete asshole “we’re playing Alias, wanna join?”

She looked at Dina purposefully and Ellie would have loved nothing more than to punch her stupid face but it was probably a bad idea to do that at this idiot’s birthday party.

“Sure, what do you say, Ellie?” Dina looked at her and Ellie shrugged then nodded. Didn’t sound like a bad idea.

Except it wasn’t such a good idea. She was placed in a team with Dina, Norah and Jordan, while the other team was Abby, Owen, Leah and Nick. And Abby was exceedingly good at this to the point it wasn’t even funny to play against her. She mocked Ellie mercilessly about how bad they were losing and she really felt that the girl's face would be improved by an axe at this point. When they finally lost the blond bitch laughed and high fived her team and Ellie was ready to leave the party. But then Dina gave her a kiss on the cheek. Everything that had happened until then became absolutely irrelevant right there.

“What was that for?” asked Ellie and looked at her, unable to contain the smile on her face

Dina shrugged “Consolation prize” said Dina and winked at her

“Now I wanna lose more often,” said Ellie before she thought about it. She regretted it immediately and felt her cheeks grow hot but Dina smiled at her and playfully touched her leg with her own.

“You are such a tease” said Dina

“Me?” asked Ellie “what about you?”

Dina tilted her head and looked at her face with care “Oh Ellie, I am not even nearly as much of a tease as you”

Ellie opened her mouth but she had no idea what to say. She didn't think she was and racked her brain for any moment when she would have been. Maybe Dina was drunk.  


“Get a room” said Nora and everyone laughed.

Ellie grunted and felt that the moment had passed too quickly. 

“We should go dancing now, there’s no more chips or beer, and we already played all the games” suggested Leah

“Yeah, let’s go” said Nora enthusiastically

“I don’t know” said Nick “haven’t really liked it the last times we went”

“We can try a new place” suggested Owen “like the one that Dina suggested the other day”

Ellie was slightly annoyed that this guy seemed so familiar with Dina but then again, she should not be so possessive with her friend.

“We could try or we can just buy more beer and stay here” said Abby

“C'mon, let’s go out and dance, when was the last time you danced?” asked Leah

“Uhm… I think it was with Dina and Owen at that fair” said Abby

“Dude, that was like a year ago” said Dina then she looked at Owen “what is wrong with you?”

“Nothing, she doesn’t like to go out that much” said Owen defensively, “I want to but on her free time she just reads and writes” 

_ Nerd _ , thought Ellie but she was bothered to know that this girl wasn’t as different as she was.

“Let’s go out, girl” insisted Nora

“I don’t know” said Abby “we already have that rave party we are going to go to tomorrow, isn’t it too much?”

“C'mon, you just turned 19, let’s go” said Leah “you are not 50, you can go twice a week to dance”

“Come” said Owen and grabbed Abby’s hand “let’s go”

“Ok” said Abby in the end, reluctantly agreeing

Dina looked at Ellie and moved her head, inviting her to go dance. She sighed and agreed. She wasn’t interested but if she could have more time to be with Dina she would take it. Either by accident or for whatever reason, she met Abby’s eyes for a brief second. They both looked like they wanted to do anything else but go out and for that second there, Abby gave her an understanding smile. Ellie returned the smile but then looked away, annoyed at herself for having done that.  _ I’m not like you _ , thought Ellie,  _ I will dance the whole fucking night to prove you wrong if I have to. _

When they got to the pub, it seemed like Leah wanted to ask her to dance but Ellie grabbed Dina’s hand and dragged her to the dance floor before anyone else decided to interrupt them. Abby arched an eyebrow at that but Ellie scoffed. This was not her environment but Ellie was determined to have a good time with Dina this night, in spite of the undesirable company. Dina was laughing at this, delighted by Ellie’s boldness and they danced for at least an hour. At one point Abby and Owen joined them and were dancing near them, Leah and Jordan were also dancing while Nora was with some random girl and Nick with a girl he invited to dance. At some point Abby and Owen started eating each other’s face, while Leah and Jordan did the same, even Nora and the girl were kissing and Ellie looked down and smiled, she felt it was a bit too much pressure to see all these couples kissing. When she looked up Dina was intently looking at her and Ellie felt her heart skip a beat.

Dina put her arms on Ellie’s neck and drew her closer. 

“I have a serious question for you” said Dina

“What?” asked Ellie

“How badly made is my hair?” asked Dina

Ellie looked at it. When they had arrived at the pub it had been nicely done with her curls all organized and well defined. Now, after all the dance her hair was more wild but Ellie liked it the same. Despite this, she wanted to mock her.

“Like two cats who had a pretty bad fight” said Ellie

“Oh, really?” said Dina, as she put a hand on Ellie’s hair and messed it up completely

“Hey, what the fuck, dude?” complained Ellie but laughed at the same time

“I think yours looks much better now” said Dina and smiled

“Sure it does,” said Ellie. Dina looked around and then came closer, putting her head on Ellie’s shoulder

“You know, many people are looking at you” said Dina to Ellie’s ear “maybe they recognize you already”

“Maybe they are looking at you, you have been in more movies” said Ellie

“I think they are looking at you” insisted Dina “maybe they are thinking how fierce you look in the trailer, maybe they are already scared of you”

“I’m just a girl” said Ellie nervously “Not a threat”

“Oh Ellie” said Dina as she pulled back, looked at her, then tucked a loose strand of hair behind Ellie’s ear, making her shiver “I think they should be terrified of you”

Dina closed the distance between them and kissed her. The whole dance floor disappeared as Ellie closed her eyes and concentrated on responding to that kiss. She felt Dina smiling against her lips and that only made her shiver once more, she had never felt this thrilled over a kiss, it made her whole body feel awake and alive. Despite how loud the music was, she didn’t even hear it anymore, she only knew and felt Dina’s lips and her arms on her. 

  
When Dina pulled back she felt slightly confused but then she smiled at her. She didn’t even hear Nora howling next to them, she didn’t hear Abby’s snickering  _ Finally, dude _ , or see Leah clapping in celebration. She only saw Dina’s glowing face and her warm smile and she felt drunk from it even though she hadn’t really drank any alcohol that night yet. Instead of thinking about the people next to them she went for another kiss and Dina seemed happy enough to continue doing that for the rest of the time they were there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, they kissed :D


	4. Communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Ellie and Dina’s kiss is not what Dina expected. Ellie still has doubts and Dina is there to clarify things.

That night she was laying in her bed and smiling, unable to sleep and replaying their kisses in her mind. She didn’t even remember saying goodnight to the people there, she barely remembered getting back at her place and going to her room. Everything was just so wonderful. She noticed she received a message and she almost jumped to get her phone. It was Dina, who sent a message

_I had a lot of fun, wanna hang out tomorrow?_ , Ellie smiled even more as she wrote the reply to that

_Sure, where do you want to go, do you want me to go by your place, want to come here?_

She nervously waited as she saw Dina was writing a reply

_I’ll go to your place, 7?_

_Yes! See you then_

She laid down again and smiled to herself. Who the hell cares that it was Abby’s birthday? The most important thing that day had been Dina kissing her. She had so many questions though, did she want to date her, did she want to just kiss her randomly? Despite this, she was so excited, she felt her chest would burst from joy.

The next day went by in a daze, she was only thinking about seeing Dina again. She didn’t care about Joel’s funny looks or Tess joking every time she checked the time. 

"So" said Joel when they were having lunch "did you have fun yesterday?"

Tess sighed and continued eating.

"Uhm, yeah" said Ellie

"I was surprised about you going to that girl's party, thought you didn't like her" said Joel

"I don't, I don't like Abby at all. It wasn't really a party, more like a small gathering" said Ellie

"All the more reason to be surprised" commented Joel

Ellie shrugged

"Are her friends a little bit nicer than her?" asked Tess

"Yes, definitely" said Ellie thinking about Nora and Leah

"I reckon Dina at least is" said Joel

Ellie didn't think much about this but he was right. Dina must be close enough to Abby that the blonde would invite her to her apartment. The thought bothered her a little but she decided she wasn't going to let this ruin her mood. 

"Ellie? Are you still with us?" asked Joel

"Oh, yeah, I'm here," said Ellie. She had been daydreaming again

"Didn't seem like it" commented Joel “I really don’t know how you manage to go around everyday without a brain”

“Kinda like you manage to go around everyday without falling into pieces like the mummy you are” replied Ellie

“Ha ha ha” said Joel sarcastically “even being this old I can still notice how witless you are”

“Not as much as you” said Ellie

“That was so weak, Ellie, you are not even trying” joked Joel

"Let her be," said Tess, "look Ellie, if there's anything you need to ask, anything at all, or if you want to talk then you can come to us, do you know that?" 

"Sure" said Ellie

"And I mean anything, even if you may think we don't know about it," Tess gave her a strange look then "we know"

_Is she implying something else here?_ , pondered Ellie. She had always wondered about those old pictures Tess had with women where they seemed very very close and the times she had made some comments that made aunt Maria blush. 

"Ok, I'll remember it" said Ellie, now thinking of a moment where she could talk with Tess on her own

"Good, we would love to help" said Joel affectionately

"Appreciated" said Ellie and checked again the time

"Are you expecting anyone?" asked Joel

"Dina is coming at 7" replied Ellie before thinking

"Nice" said Tess "she seems to be a nice girl"

"I like her too" said Joel

Ellie scratched her neck and smiled awkwardly. At least her parents seemed enthusiastic about Dina, even in their odd ways. Luckily, Tess changed the topic after that and they didn't ask her anything anymore. 

Later that day, her phone rang and she answered before even checking who it was.

“Hi” said Ellie

“Dude, there’s pictures of you everywhere” said Riley

“What?” Ellie felt her smile fading

“I mean, you can’t see very well and it’s mostly speculation but I know your stupid face, I know it was you” said Riley “some people confused you with this other actress Katelyn something but some say it was you, in any case that Katelyn is totally out, she’s pan, and I saw that most people believe it was her, she hasn’t said anything yet”

“Fuck” said Ellie “I have to talk to my agent”

“Look, maybe it will blow up and people will forget” said Riley

“But what if they don’t? Dina is not out to her family” said Ellie

“Well, you can’t really see much, no one mentioned who she was, just you and that Abby” said Riley

“Fuck” repeated Ellie

“Chill, sorry to bring those bad news but just had to tell you and by the way, congrats” said Riley happily

“Well, she’s coming, at least she said she was coming, maybe now with this she will not come” said Ellie nervously

“Look, you mentioned something about her saying that if she likes the girl she would not care and hide, right? Well, believe in her” said Riley encouragingly

“Right, she did say that” said Ellie

“Anyway, I’m not going to ask you about how it went, seems like it went well, just wanted to let you know what happened, so that you are ready” explained Riley

“Yeah, thanks dude” said Ellie 

“No problem” said Riley “now go and get ready for your girl, good luck, bye”

“Thank you, bye Riley,” said Ellie and hung up.

She immediately called her agent and they talked for at least an hour. Just like Riley she recommended not mentioning anything for now since in the pictures no one could tell it was her for sure. So she decided she was going to talk about this with Dina if she wanted to. For now she didn’t even know what Dina wanted with her. She was still excited to see her but now dreaded a bit that she wouldn’t come. Finally she heard the doorbell ring and flew to open the door. 

“Hi” said Dina and came in

“Hello” said Ellie, giving Dina space to come in “uhm, do you want to drink something?”

“Nah, I’m fine” said Dina “I have some comics here for you, thought you might want to check on them”

“Oh, thanks, let’s go then… uhm” Ellie felt self conscious, she had been with Dina plenty of times in her room but she had not kissed her before

Dina didn’t need encouragement though and went straight to Ellie’s room. Ellie sighed and followed her. To her surprise Dina did actually have some comics to show her and they discussed some of these, then Ellie put on some music, she had a new band she liked and wanted Dina to know them.

They were checking one of the comics and discussing a scene, Ellie had the comic open in her lap and Dina put a hand on a page, getting closer to Ellie and then looked up at her. Ellie suddenly forgot what they were talking about as she concentrated on her lovely dark eyes and felt her pulse quickening.

“Ellie, are you listening?” said Dina, smiling

“Huh?” said Ellie

“Where is your head, dummy?” asked Dina

“Uhm, right in its place, can’t you see?” Ellie tried to joke

“Oh, I have the feeling it’s somehow not so present” said Dina

“No, I’m right here” said Ellie awkwardly

Dina tilted her head and looked at her pointedly

“I have a question, you know?” said Dina

“What is it?” asked Ellie

“Scale of one to ten, one being like absolute trash and ten being like life-altering... how would you rate our kiss from last night?” asked Dina

“What?” said Ellie

“I’m wondering, how would you rate it” said Dina and thought about it for some seconds while Ellie was unable to think of a suitable answer, her useless lesbian brain completely unable to work “I would say… a 6 maybe”

“What?” Ellie couldn’t help but feel deeply offended

“I mean it was a very public place” commented Dina “a solid six”

“Really, a 6? Wow” said Ellie, annoyed

“Now I’m curious, how would you rate it”

“You don’t want to know” said Ellie, slightly affronted at being given such a low score, she had felt their kiss had been life altering, she had been daydreaming about it the whole fucking day but now she wasn’t going to say that.

“But I do, zombie girl, tell me”

“I don’t like that nickname”

“What do you want me to call you then?”

Ellie didn’t come up with anything smart to say, she just scoffed.

“What about… babe?” said Dina and Ellie swallowed “Babe, how would you rate our kiss?”

“Why are we still talking about this?” asked Ellie

“You know why, babe” teased Dina

“Well, in that case, why not improving on that rating, babe” said Ellie with as much courage as she could muster and kissed her

They kissed for hours and Ellie didn’t think she could ever be happier. When they pulled back, much later, she knew she had to talk to her about the incident but she detested to ruin such a good mood.

“Dina… I have to ask you something” said Ellie biting her lips

“What?” asked Dina and caressed her hair

“Uhm, it’s about last night… maybe you know that… there are some pictures…”

“Oh, that, I talked to my agent, no one even mentioned my name yet so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, it will be old news soon… does it bother you?” asked Dina and she seemed slightly worried

“Not really, I was worried about you and your family” said Ellie

“So, not ashamed that I’m taking you out of the meat market?” asked Dina

Ellie laughed 

“It’s not like there’s a list of girls out there who want to date me” joked Ellie

“I am sure there is, like a literal list” teased Dina

“I should probably worry more about a list of people who want to date you” said Ellie and laughed nervously

“Are you really trying to compete on this with me?” asked Dina

“No, I am sure I would lose” said Ellie looking down and then at her once more “so… are you… then saying that… we are… like…”

“Seriously? Are you even asking? Of course I want to date you, you moron” said Dina

Ellie laughed once more, relieved. 

“Was that not clear somehow?” asked Dina “I thought it was obvious”

“Well, I rather not assume, you know” explained Ellie “I had a couple of bad experiences where I did”

“Oh no, poor Ellie, don’t worry” said Dina cheerfully, still playing with Ellie’s hair “I am positive I want to date you”

“Great,” said Ellie and kissed her again. Happiness overflowing all of her as Dina hugged her and kissed her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Tess is bi and is Maria’s ex in this story because I said so.  
> I will leave this here for now but I may continue this AU at some point, it’s nice that there’s elliedina week and I hope there will be other similar elliedina events.  
> Thanks to anyone who reads and likes this :D

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are welcomed :)


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